Sold the 2005 Corolla

[4WD]

I always wonder why rust belt shoppers don't 'net shop and buy their rust free vehicles from the south. It would be easy to find 2 or 3 or 4 good candidates in a metro area, have phone conversations with the owners, then fly down, look at the prospects all in one day, then buy one and drive it back home. The small effort would be well worth not having spent hard earned money on a newly purchased rusted used car or truck.

Hurry before they head to Mexico

 

[bullwinkle]

I always wonder why rust belt shoppers don't 'net shop and buy their rust free vehicles from the south. It would be easy to find 2 or 3 or 4 good candidates in a metro area, have phone conversations with the owners, then fly down, look at the prospects all in one day, then buy one and drive it back home. The small effort would be well worth not having spent hard earned money on a newly purchased rusted used car or truck.

That’s the situation I’m in with the xB & Corolla in my sig- both are rusting in annoying places (Corolla driver’s rear quarter, xB in front of back bumper from being rear ended/hatch air leaks). They will both run until the bodies disintegrate, and with nearly no book value, they’re one lunatic away from U-Pull & Pay.

 

[joekingcorvette]

I had an 04 Corolla and sold it at about 225,000 miles and it still looked and drove great.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Just found out the starter relay is buried under the dash on these cars... Not this one; this one is Perfecto.

 

[supton]

I always wonder why rust belt shoppers don't 'net shop and buy their rust free vehicles from the south. It would be easy to find 2 or 3 or 4 good candidates in a metro area, have phone conversations with the owners, then fly down, look at the prospects all in one day, then buy one and drive it back home. The small effort would be well worth not having spent hard earned money on a newly purchased rusted used car or truck.

Risk. How do you know the seller isn’t lying? How do you know it won’t break down on the drive home? Its an extra grand to buy, between plane ticket and hotel, or at least that in shipping.

Also timing. The good deals go fast—but if you have to arrange for a week off from work, plus a flight, then that is an issue.

 

[sw99]

Love my Corolla's, we have a 2008 and 2-2009's. I wish they still sold these simple little tools just like they were. Easy to work on, reliable and practical.

 

[gfh77665]

Risk. How do you know the seller isn’t lying? How do you know it won’t break down on the drive home? Its an extra grand to buy, between plane ticket and hotel, or at least that in shipping.

Also timing. The good deals go fast—but if you have to arrange for a week off from work, plus a flight, then that is an issue.

Lying? Anyone could lie anywhere, local or not.
Break down on way home? Unless you are buying junk, very, very unlikely in a lower milage vehicle.
A grand? No way. A flight is $250-$300, a hotel is $100-$120, throw in food at you are at $500 maybe. Worth that to avoid rust? Yes!
A week off? No, 2 days max. Could easily do it on a week end. Works for sellers too. Buy Saturday AM, get home Sunday night.

 

[supton]

Anyone could lie anywhere, local or not.

Yes. But when local, and looking at the car, you can tell, real fast.

What is your idea of junk? I’d like to aim for at least ten years old, 20 is better. Skip collision insurance by keeping purchase price below 5k.

I’m assuming three days of driving, been a long time since I’ve done any long distance driving. Gets longer if anything arises. Plus… I had been thinking of doing this thing, this week, but the weather is starting to get iffy.

 

[LouC]

My last one was a 1989 Corolla Sport Coupe with the rear spoiler and pop up front lights and the wonderful Toyota 1600 Twin Cam 4AGE engine. Still regret selling that one! Kept it 9 years and 99,000 miles. Same engine as a Mk1 MR-2

 

[Bill7]

Just remember: the newest one you’ll find is 16 years old.

Right. The way I look at it, there are 2 things about a car that causes depreciation (and puts the used car price at a deep discount):

Age and miles.

I would rather buy an older car with low miles than a newer car with high miles.

I've had good luck buying older cars with low mileage at a low price and keeping them for decade(s).
Those 2003 to 2008 Corollas seem to go forever with very few repairs and maintenance.
I really like it's simple ultra reliable engine, transmission, and the rest of the systems on the car.

Those 2003 to 2008 Corollas might be one of the most reliable car generations Toyota ever built (perhaps rivaling the early 1990's Lexus LS400's in terms of reliability).

Also, I like having an unimpressive car. Never have to worry about someone stealing it at the park and ride. LOL.

To me the least money spent over a 10 year period on vehicles is most important thing.
For example, if I can buy a 2008 Toyota Corolla CE for $4,000 with 60k miles on it from an original owner and then drive it to 300k miles over the next 12 years at 20k miles a year (with only minimal repairs needed and 40 MPG on highway), I will have minimized the amount of money spent.